Your participation in the 2026 AACI/AACR Hill Day is crucial to sharing our message with our legislators in Washington: that stable, predictable funds for the National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute are critical for advancing cancer research and care at our nation’s cancer centers. We encourage each cancer center to send at least one representative to Washington to advocate on your center’s behalf.
AACI Update | April 2026
Headlines
Winn Named New Director of Fox Chase Cancer Center
Robert A. Winn, MD, has been appointed the next cancer center director for Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health. Dr. Winn is known for pioneering a "community-to-bench" model that integrates community perspectives into scientific discovery and for founding the Robert A. Winn Diversity in Clinical Trials Award Program. He is AACI's immediate past president and currently serves as director of VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Dartmouth Cancer Center Appoints Herbst as Next Leader
Dartmouth Cancer Center has appointed Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, as the center’s sixth director. Herbst will lead integrated efforts to help strengthen cancer research, education, and collaboration across Dartmouth and Dartmouth Health, expand access to advanced treatments and clinical trials, and continue to elevate cancer care in southern New Hampshire, throughout New England, and beyond.
'Healthy Humorist' to Keynote CRI Meeting
Open up and say "Ha!" The Healthy Humorist® Brad Nieder, MD, CSP ("Dr. Brad"), will deliver the opening keynote of the 18th Annual AACI Clinical Research Innovation (CRI) Meeting. Described as "Jerry Seinfeld with an MD," Dr. Brad is a doctor, clean comedian, and public speaker who uses humor to educate and inspire. His keynote is scheduled for Tuesday, June 23 at 12:30 pm central time.
New AACI Report Highlights Importance of State Investment in Cancer Research
In collaboration with Dant Advocacy, AACI has released a new report highlighting the critical role that state governments play in advancing cancer research, supporting innovation, and improving patient outcomes nationwide. State-Funded Cancer Research documents the impacts of state investments, which include strengthening local economies, supporting workforce development, and expanding access to clinical trials.
AACI Brings Cancer Policy Community Together for Key Federal Research Discussions
Government relations professionals from AACI cancer centers and partner organizations gathered in Washington, DC, for timely discussions that focused on the federal landscape for cancer research, including National Institutes of Health priorities, appropriations, and ongoing policy developments.
News from the Centers
Halpern-Felsher to Receive ASPO Award
Stanford Cancer Institute
Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, PhD, will be awarded the Joseph W. Cullen Memorial Award at the 2026 American Society of Preventive Oncology (ASPO) Meeting. She is being honored for her distinguished achievement in national tobacco control interventions.
International Society for Experimental Hematology Recognizes Papapetrou
Mount Sinai Tisch Cancer Center
Eirini Papapetrou, MD, PhD, was selected as the 2026 recipient of the McCulloch and Till Award from the International Society for Experimental Hematology (ISEH). Dr. Papapetrou is recognized for her achievements in leveraging induced pluripotent stem cells to model and study the mechanisms of myelodysplasia and acute myeloid leukemia. She was also elected to the 2026-2027 Board of Directors of ISEH.
Fox Chase Researcher Recognized for Computational Biology Work
Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health
Roland L. Dunbrack, Jr., PhD, founding director of the Fox Chase Molecular Modeling Facility, has been honored with the 2026 DeLano Award for Computational Biosciences from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Stewart Elected to AACR Board of Directors
Siteman Cancer Center
Sheila A. Stewart, PhD, associate director for basic science at Siteman Cancer Center, has been elected to the American Association for Cancer Research Board of Directors. As a cancer biologist, Dr. Stewart studies how noncancerous cells, known as stroma, in tumors promote the development of cancer.
American Cancer Society's Partner of the Year: UF Health
UF Health Cancer Institute
The University of Florida Health system has received the American Cancer Society’s Health System Partner of the Year award for its innovative, collaborative approaches to enhancing cancer prevention, early detection, medical care, and quality of life for cancer patients and their families. It’s one of only two health systems nationwide that received the honor.
Researcher Receives Funding to Crack the Dark Proteome of Cancer
University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center
A global, interdisciplinary team of researchers, called ILLUMINE, has been selected to receive a Cancer Grand Challenges award of up to $25 million over approximately five years to tackle the challenge of the dark proteome. John Prensner, MD, PhD, will be part of the initiative.
Consortium Seeks Cure for Hepatitis B Thanks to $24 Million Federal Research Grant
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins Medicine-led multinational Hepatitis B and HIV Cure Consortium was recently established through the awarding of a five-year, $24 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The consortium, comprised of research groups in Brazil, India, Senegal, Uganda, and the United States, will use translational medicine to seek a cure for hepatitis B.
$3 Million NCI Award to Develop Next Generation of Cancer Researchers
University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center
The University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center has been awarded a $3 million National Cancer Institute (NCI) Career Development Award to train the next generation of oncology researchers focused on treating patients of all backgrounds.
Can AI Help Predict Outcomes in Ovarian Cancer?
University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center
An international team of researchers has received $2 million in support to understand how artificial intelligence can improve prediction of ovarian cancer survival and treatment response. Leigh Pearce, PhD, MPH, is principal investigator.
Roswell Park Brings Lung Health Care Initiative to Indigenous Communities
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
A three-year grant from Lilly to Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is bringing rich new lung health resources to Indigenous workplaces located across North America.
Baskin Named Interim Director
VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center
Monica L. Baskin, PhD, will serve as the interim director of VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Baskin is the deputy director of research at Massey and associate dean for cancer innovation in the VCU School of Medicine, with appointments as professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and the VCU School of Public Health.
El-Rayes Appointed Deputy Director
UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center
The Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health announces the appointment of Bassel F. El-Rayes, MD, as deputy director. He joins UC San Diego from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he served as deputy cancer center director.
Moore Named Deputy Director
Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center
The Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center has appointed Kathleen Moore, MD, as deputy director and director of Phase I oncology trials. Dr. Moore is an internationally recognized leader in gynecologic oncology, known for her contributions to early-phase clinical trials and cancer research program development.
Cortes Joins Division of Hematology and Oncology
O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham
UAB Medicine and the O’Neal Cancer Center announce the commitment from Jorge E. Cortes, MD, to the Division of Hematology and Oncology, joining as the chief of hematology in April. Dr. Cortes will also assume the role of associate director for translation for the UAB O’Neal Cancer Center.
Gentz Welcomed as Associate Director of Administration
UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center
UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center announces that William "Bill" Gentz has joined the center as associate director of administration. He has held key administrative roles at Scripps Research, UC San Diego, Johns Hopkins University, and Massachusetts General Hospital, where he led large teams supporting complex research portfolios, financial compliance, facilities oversight, and strategic process improvement.
Previously Unrecognized Immune Response Could Enhance Defense Against Cancer
Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine
Pavan Reddy, MD, director of Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, and his team, in collaboration with University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center's Arul Chinnaiyan, MD, PhD, and Marcin Cieslik, PhD, have discovered a novel way that T-cells, attack their target cells, showing direct implications for cancer immunology and bone marrow transplantation.
Study Maps U.S. Diabetes-Cancer Hotspots
UK Markey Cancer Center
A new University of Kentucky study has mapped areas across the U.S. where high rates of diabetes and deaths from diabetes-related cancers overlap. The UK Markey Cancer Center and Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center research reveals patterns that could help target life-saving interventions.
Severe COVID-19, Flu Facilitate Lung Cancer Months or Years Later
University of Virginia Cancer Center
Severe COVID-19 and influenza infections prime the lungs for cancer and can accelerate the disease’s development, but vaccination heads off those harmful effects, new research from UVA Health’s Beirne B. Carter Center for Immunology Research and UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center indicates.
New Therapy Combines Imaging and Targeted Radiation to Treat Aggressive Bone Cancer
UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
Investigators at UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center are testing a promising new treatment strategy that can both detect and attack cancer at the same time. The approach is now being tested in a first-in-human clinical trial, where investigators have treated the first patient with the experimental radiotheranostic therapy for metastatic osteosarcoma.
Scientists Discover an Unexpected Food Source for Tumors
Wilmot Cancer Institute, UR Medicine
Researchers discovered an antioxidant, glutathione, that cancer cells appear to devour as fuel, opening new pathways for investigation and a drug that can restrict the way tumors use this nutrient.
Gastrointestinal Cancers to Double by 2050
Cedars-Sinai Cancer
Gastrointestinal cancer cases are expected to double worldwide by 2050, according to a multi-institutional study co-led by Cedars-Sinai. The projections conclude that the biggest increases will be in pancreatic cancer diagnoses and colorectal cancer deaths. Esophageal and liver cancer diagnoses and deaths are also expected to increase.
Illegal E-Cigarettes Promoted on Instagram Exposed by Researchers
UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute
A newly published study reveals that illegal e-cigarettes designed to resemble miniature boba tea cups, cola cans, and toy animals are being widely promoted on Instagram, often portraying young people using the products and marketing them in ways that may appeal to youth.
Researchers Identify Clotting Protein as Potential Target in Pancreatic Cancer
Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center
Researchers at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center have found that depleting a clotting protein made by the liver could slow down pancreatic cancer. The research shows that reducing fibrinogen in mouse models shrinks primary pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tumors and reduces their ability to metastasize to the liver.
Study Expands Pesticide Risk Window to Before Pregnancy
The University of Arizona Cancer Center
Women exposed to agricultural pesticides, even before becoming pregnant, may be putting their newborn's health at risk. A new University of Arizona study links those exposures to poorer health in newborns, raising questions about how farming chemicals affect the next generation.
Investigators Create Open-Source Database to Study Cancer More Easily
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and The Johns Hopkins University have created a novel database structure that allows investigators anywhere to study multiple types of cancer data—including laboratory results, genetic sequencing, and imaging data—in one setting.
Molecular Vulnerability in Rare Childhood Brain Cancer Revealed
Fred Hutch Cancer Center
When broken strands of DNA get repaired improperly, they can stitch together in new "Frankengene" fusions that can cause cancer. Researchers from two labs in the Human Biology Division at Fred Hutch Cancer Center are working together to better understand how one of these notorious fusions—ZFTA-RELA—drives rare brain tumors in children called ependymomas.
Study May Help Cancer Patients Keep Their Bladder
Mount Sinai Tisch Cancer Center
Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have reported promising findings that may help redefine treatment for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, a potentially aggressive form of the disease traditionally treated with surgical removal of the bladder.
Can Exercise Help Chemo Brain? New Research Adds Promising Results
Wilmot Cancer Institute, UR Medicine
Researchers recommended a tailored, scientifically validated exercise program to individuals receiving chemotherapy for cancer, and those who were on a two-week chemotherapy schedule and followed the exercise prescription were able to maintain their walking-step goals, use resistance bands, and stay mentally sharper compared to patients who did not exercise.
Researchers Study Immune System Response to Chemotherapy for Colorectal Cancer
Duke Cancer Institute
A team at the Duke Cancer Institute is launching a first-of-its-kind study that could bring new hope to patients living with advanced colorectal cancer. The project explores why some colorectal cancers that spread to the liver respond well to chemotherapy while others do not.
Researchers Engineer CAR T Cells to Target Hard-to-Treat Solid Tumors
UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
UCLA scientists have developed a next-generation CAR T-cell therapy that can overcome the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, a protective shield that tumors use to weaken immune cells, block their attack, and fuel tumor growth.
Scientists Create Cancer-Fighting Immune Cells Right in the Body
UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
Scientists at UC San Francisco have developed a new form of CAR T which kills leukemia, multiple myeloma, and sarcoma in mice, opening the door to a future off-the-shelf cancer treatment without chemotherapy.
Analysis Highlights Untapped Potential of RNA Vaccines
University of Virginia Cancer Center
A new analysis of federal funding for RNA vaccine research highlights the vast potential of the technology, not just for preventing infectious diseases, but for treating devastating conditions ranging from cancer to Alzheimer’s.
New Regimen Protects Against Cancer Relapse, Graft-Versus-Host Disease After Donor Stem Cell Transplant
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
Results of a Phase I clinical trial show that patients who undergo a blood stem cell transplant involving a donor have a lower risk of relapse and lower rates of graft-versus-host disease when they receive the targeted therapy VIC-1911 along with the standard-of-care regimen that includes post-transplant cyclophosphamide and sirolimus.
Additional Radiation for Liver Cancer Does Not Increase Toxicity
University of Cincinnati Cancer Center
New research from a University of Cincinnati Cancer Center study found external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) is safe to administer to patients with liver cancer even after they undergo a targeted internal radiation therapy called Y90.
AI-Powered Platform May Enable Same-Day Treatment Decisions for Pediatric Patients
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
Scientists at the University of Utah have developed a new "lab-on-a-chip" device that uses artificial intelligence to rapidly predict cancer cell sensitivity to targeted therapies for children with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
New AI Tool Predicts Best Pancreatic Cancer Treatment
Cedars-Sinai Cancer
A new tool co-developed by investigators from Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University can predict which of two available chemotherapy options for pancreatic cancer would be more effective for an individual patient. If validated in further studies, the artificial intelligence-based platform could be used to improve treatment selection in virtually any cancer type.
Study Shows Smoking Cessation Can Become Standard Cancer Care Nationwide
UK Markey Cancer Center
A new study co-authored by UK Markey Cancer Center researchers shows that making smoking cessation assistance a standard part of cancer care is achievable on a national scale and can happen relatively quickly.
Tracking Unique Metabolic Signatures in Cancer Cells
Stanford Cancer Institute
A technique that transforms immune cells into cancer-seeking bloodhounds may overcome a roadblock that has hampered immunotherapy for solid tumors, according to a new study by Stanford Medicine researchers.
In Memoriam: Michael Bishop, Nobel-Winning Cancer Researcher
UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
J. Michael Bishop, MD, a pioneering microbiologist who shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering that every cell in the body harbors genes that can cause cancer, has died at the age of 90. The former UCSF chancellor helped to establish cancer as a genetic disease, ushering in the modern age of cancer biology.
Startup Translates Academic Innovation Into a Breakthrough for Safer Proton Therapy
University of Cincinnati Cancer Center
A University of Cincinnati spinout, Range Assure, is bringing to market a patented, next-generation calibration technology that directly addresses proton therapy’s most persistent limitation: range uncertainty. The innovation emerged from university-led research and was advanced through a structured technology transfer pathway, including patent protection, accelerator support, and early-stage grant funding.
New Bus Brings 'HOPE' on Wheels
The University of Kansas Cancer Center
The University of Kansas Cancer Center and its outreach network, the Masonic Cancer Alliance, have announced a new effort to provide cancer screening throughout the cancer center’s catchment area. Known as HOPE on Wheels: Health Outreach, Prevention and Education, a 42-foot bus will help ensure that geography isn’t a barrier to detecting cancers earlier.
Cancer Center Jobs
Senior Director of Information Technology
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
Read moreDirector, UF Health Cancer Institute and Physician-in-Chief, UF Health Shands Cancer Hospital
UF Health Cancer Institute
Read morePediatric Oncology and Cellular Therapy Physician Scientist
Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina
Read moreMeeting Announcements
2026 AACI/AACR Hill Day
May 14, 2026
Rural Health and Cancer Conference
June 2, 2026
The Rural Health and Cancer Conference aims to improve rural cancer outcomes by convening a wide-array of experts from across the nation in rural cancer healthcare delivery and building cross-disciplinary collaborations amongst rural cancer health experts.
18th Annual AACI Clinical Research Innovation (CRI) Meeting
June 23, 2026
The 3-day CRI annual meeting includes panel discussions, breakout sessions, and presentations of abstracts and posters, which aim to establish best practices for cancer center clinical trials offices.
Support Opportunities
2026 AACI Leadership Development Workshop
October 24, 2026
The 2026 Leadership Development Workshop will be held in conjunction with the 2026 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting. Registration opens Friday, May 1, 2026.
This event convenes emerging leaders for didactic and experiential leadership development sessions. An offshoot of Dr. Caryn Lerman’s AACI presidential initiative, the workshop aims to enhance the oncology leadership pipeline with top talent.
Support Opportunities
2026 Impact Summit
October 24, 2026
The 2026 Impact Summit will be held in conjunction with the 2026 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting. Registration opens Friday, May 1, 2026.
Co-hosted by AACI, the American Cancer Society, and the Cancer Center Network, the Impact Summit brings together cancer center leaders, researchers, and key stakeholders for a dynamic one-day event focused on strengthening the future of cancer center leadership and workforce development.
Support Opportunities
2026 New Cancer Center Directors Meeting
October 24, 2026
The 2026 New Cancer Center Directors Meeting will be held in conjunction with the 2026 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting. Registration opens Friday, May 1, 2026.
2026 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting
October 25, 2026
The 3-day AACI/CCAF annual meeting offers AACI members the opportunity to network with cancer center colleagues, national cancer research and advocacy groups, industry, and government health agencies to develop solutions to common challenges. Registration opens Friday, May 1, 2026.
Support Opportunities